Dragons win ANZAC Day thriller

If there is one lesson that the world of the NRL can teach you, it is to never give up on your team, and that it is not over, until the fat lady sings.

Such an adage rang true in this afternoon’s thriller, after the St George Illawarra Dragons defeated the Sydney Roosters in front of a record crowd at Allianz Stadium – with the Dragons scoring two tries at the death, to win the game.

The loss was so tough on the Roosters players, that five-eighth and captain Braith Anasta, described the loss as “a nightmare”.

“It’s a bit of a nightmare. We’re pretty speechless,” Anasta said.

“We couldn’t believe we lost it. We had it.

“I might be biased but I thought we were the better team and I thought we should have won.

“We cost ourselves in the end.”

Despite the narrow loss however, the incumbent NSW halfback in Mitchell Pearce did his Origin credentials no harm, with a very solid display.

The game marked Ben Hornby’s record game for the Dragons, as he passed Norm Provan for the most capped Dragon in their history, with Hornby winning man-of-the-match, albeit controversially.

“We dug in and dug in and kept plugging away and the game turned in the last few minutes,” said Hornby, who converted the final try in his record-breaking 257th game for the Dragons.